


one foot (in front of the other)

by brownstones



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Original Character(s), dad!richie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 23:04:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13727889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brownstones/pseuds/brownstones
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak was happy with his life. He moved to New York where he was working as a nurse and living with his best friend, Bill. When he meets Richie Tozier and his daughter, his life gets flipped upside down in the best way possible.





	one foot (in front of the other)

“Eddie, there’s a patient in room two waiting to be stitched up. Can you treat her?”

Eddie sighed, nodding at his co-worker. The hospital was pretty busy for a Thursday night, going from patient to patient without a break in between. He was exhausted, to say the least. He hadn’t gotten any sleep the previous night, tossing and turning in his bed, covering his ears with his pillow to drown out the moans coming from his roommate’s room. He’s going to have to have a talk with Bill about that when he gets home. Eddie finished up with the patient he was with before heading over to room two.

He grabbed the clipboard with the patient’s information, reading over it quickly. _Olivia_ _Tozier, four-years old, fell off bike and needs sutures in right arm_ , it read. _Sounds_ _easy_ _enough_ , he thought, then retrieved the supplies he needed to stitch her up. When he reached the room, he knocked lightly on the door, signaling his entrance. He could hear faint cries and hushed words being spoken over the creak of the door opening. The little girl was sat upon the table, legs dangling over the edge and she had tears running down her face. The man next to her, presumably her father, was whispering soothing words into her ear to try and calm her down.

“Daddy, it hurts,” she whimpered, more tears falling from her eyes.

The man reached out to rub the tears off of her face, looking like he was about to respond, but Eddie’s entrance stopped him. He looked relieved, turning back to his daughter and patting her on the knee. “Look honey, the doctor is here to fix you up.”

“Oh, I’m not a doctor, actually. I’m a nurse,” Eddie cut in. He moved further into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the table the patient was sitting on, setting the small basin full of supplies next to her.

“Sorry,” the man apologized.

Eddie waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Don’t worry about it. It happens more often than you’d think.” He pulled up a chair so he could sit in front of the little girl and smiled at her.

“Olivia, right?” he asked softly. She nodded. “That’s a really pretty name. Do you mind if I take a look at your arm?”

She didn’t respond, only reached her left arm out towards him. Eddie grabbed it lightly, eyes scanning over her skin to find a deep gash right below her elbow. It wasn’t too bad, only about two inches in length. He’s definitely seen worse.

“Okay, I’ll have you patched up in no time,” Eddie said. He reached into the bin of supplies in search of an antiseptic and a needle. He pulled them out and Olivia’s eyes went wide, scooting away from him. “Hey, it’s okay. I just need to clean and numb the area before I begin. It’s just a quick little pinch and then it’s over, I promise.”

Olivia nodded slightly. She reached out for her father, pulling him closer to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her face when the needle penetrated her skin. Eddie then pulled the needle out, disposing of it in the trash can.

“There, all done. Now we have to wait a couple of minutes for the numbing to kick in and then I can stitch you up.”

Eddie looked up at her father to find him staring at him with a small smile. He smiled back. “You’re really good with her, you know. That girl that was in here earlier was a total bitch to her.”

Olivia gasped. “Daddy, you said a bad word!” She held out her hand.

Her father sighed, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a dollar. He placed it in his daughter’s small hands. Eddie laughed.

The man smiled sheepishly. “I have to give her a dollar every time I curse. It was her aunt’s idea. It’s sort of like a swear jar, except she collects all the money, not the jar.”

Eddie laughed again. “It’s cute.”

The man blushed. “I’m Richie, by the way.”

“Eddie.” He reached his hand out to shake the other man’s. Richie accepted the shake before pulling his hand back.

Eddie placed his fingers against Olivia’s arm once again, feeling around the area he numbed, asking her if she could feel anything. When she shook her head, he started to stitch her up. Olivia turned her head into Richie’s shoulder, not wanting to see the small sutures go in and out of her skin.

“Okay, you’re as good as new,” Eddie said to Olivia. He turned to Richie. “You’ll have to bring her back in about a week to get the stitches removed, but she should be just fine.”

“Thank you so much,” Richie replied. He reached down to lift his daughter up into his arms. “Liv, what do you say to the nice nurse?”

“Thank you, mister,” Olivia said quietly, suddenly shy.

Eddie grinned. “You’re most certainly welcome.”

Eddie walked over to the door, pulling it open so they could exit. He brought them to the nurses station, reaching behind the desk the get some papers that Richie needed to fill out before they leave. He handed them over, along with a pen. When Richie finished, he handed the papers back to Eddie.

“Bye Eddie, thanks again,” Richie said as he and Olivia made their way out the doors of the hospital.

“Bye,” Eddie responded, giving them a small wave.

He looked down at the papers, noticing something scribbled in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. He squinted, trying to make out what it said.

_If_ _you don’t mind me having a kid, call me._

Eddie smiled.


End file.
